Yoga Workouts at Home or Anywhere You Choose

Are you telling me that you are too busy to take half an hour to an hour out of your day to improve your physical and mental health and, more importantly, “the quality of your life”.

What if I share with you some simple yoga poses that you can use for home workouts, and some, further down the page, are good exercises for the office or even while running errands.

One of the most basic yoga pose is The Mountain Pose –

Stand straight with your weight distributed evenly between both feet.
Let your shoulders hang easily to the sides and put your pelvis in a neutral position.
Slightly tighten or flex the muscles in the knees, thighs, stomach and buttocks maintaining a firm posture.
Lengthen your neck and feel as your head rises to the ceiling and your shoulder bones relax.
If you are new and just starting in yoga you can do this pose up against the wall so you can actually feel your body getting into alignment.

This pose can easily be done at home, during “coffee” breaks at the office, or while you are stand in the check out line at the grocery store.

Here are some additional poses/exercercises you can do at home, and then I’ll get exercise that you can do anywhere.

Now that you have achieved the Mountain Pose stay there and get into the The Awkward Chair Pose.

Bend your knees until your thighs are parallel, or close to it, with the floor.
This should bring a slight bend in the upper back. Inhale and exhale deeply and hold the pose for 5 to 10 breaths.
Stand up and assume the Mountain Pose then repeat the Awkward Chair Pose a few more times.
A beginner ought to work on bringing the thighs closer and closer to being parallel to the floor.

Another popular pose is the Bridge Pose (aka a backbend) .

Start by lying on your back with your knees bent. Move your feet up to you butt, while keeping the soles of the feet on your mat.
Interlace the fingers behind your back, the lower part, and straighten your arms as you are pushing them down into the mat and raise your hips towards the ceiling.
Once you have done this, roll one shoulder and then the other lifting your hips higher each time.
Release the hands and lower yourself so that you are lying flat on your back again.
Repeat a few times.

The Boat Pose is a seated pose to help your abdominal strength, by strengthening the abdomen, hip flexors, and spine. As with most yoga poses this pose is good for relieving stress.

Starting in a seated position with your legs straight in front of you. Press your hands on the floor a little behind your hips, fingers pointing toward the feet, and strengthen the arms.
Bring your legs up to a 45-degree angle and lean back slightly . This makes a “V” shape with your pointing in on direction, your butt being on the ground and you feet pointing opposite of your head. As you do this make sure your back doesn’t round; concentrate on keeping your chest strait.
Bring your arms alongside the legs, parallel to each other and the floor. Beginners can bend their knees if necessary, this is called the Half Boat Pose. Another option would be to leave your hands on the floor beside your hips or touching your palms to your hamstrings (the muscles behind your quadracepts).
Hold the pose up to 20 seconds. As you do this pose for a few weeks increase the time that you hold the pose.

Here some other yoga exercises and stretches that can can also be done while your at home, or else where when you have a free moment.

Cross one of your legs over the other and hold your quadrecept, the outer thigh, of the top leg with the opposite arm. With your free arm, grab the back of your chair and twist until you feel a comfortable stretch. Now you can switch your legs, no one will even notice and it’s good stretch that relaxes your body, relieves stress and lessens tension.

Try this one. Put your ankle on top of your opposite knee, drape your body over the triangle your legs are making. Switch legs and do the same thing. This one is great for really relaxing the back after you’ve been sitting for a long time. Stand up pushing your chair back bending from the hips and keeping your back straight, bend over and place your folded arms on the desk. Take a few deep breaths, and then slowly roll up one vertebra at a time.

How about this. When you are watching TV and a commercial comes on, take a minute to sit cross-legged on the floor with your hands on your knees. Slowly rotate your head and chest in big circles first one way and then the other. It should be a big help in relaxing your lower back.

Here’s another stretch to release the tension in your neck. Try touching your ear to your shoulder. Moving your head slowly up and down, and side-to-side.

Always breathe correctly, taking full, deep breathes, when you are doing even these poses or exercises.

Start slowly and work up to where you want to be, don’t force the stretch, otherwise injury may result,. You can be busy and still practice Yoga poses and stretches.